


Inherent Qualities

by TK_DuVeraun



Series: Legacies (SW:TOR) [7]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, Original Character(s), Original Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-18 11:45:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12387423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TK_DuVeraun/pseuds/TK_DuVeraun
Summary: Vasili Sokolov wasn't born so much asmadeto be exactly what his mother wanted. After being kidnapped by the Jedi under the thin veil of saving him, he's slotted into a second role without deviation, but even escaping the Jedi doesn't bring freedom.How can he be expected to know what he wants when he's never had a choice?---This story concludes the main plot of Legacies, so please read the other parts for full context.





	1. Choices

**Author's Note:**

> Please ensure that you've read the other stories in the Legacies series for full context.

“I can’t believe you told them everything!” Terenti shouts. He pulls at his blond hair and paces back and forth across the opulent sitting room they’ve been shoved in. He opens and closes his hands, but nothing happens, thanks to the Force cuffs they’re still stuck in.

“Your stupid revenge quest almost got us killed! Darth Vallen could’ve killed us and if it was any other Jedi that found us, we’d be packed off to Tython by now.” Vasili pulls back his sleeve, revealing the cursed tattoos. “Is this what you want?”

“How was  _ I  _ supposed to know that some weird coalition of everyone Sa’alle ever looked at funny already had a claim on her? That’s not my fault.” 

“I told you we shouldn’t kriff around with Darth Vallen!”

“I was careful! I just got unlucky.”

“Obviously not careful  _ enough _ , because she  _ caught _ us,” Vasili returns with a snarl. He yanks his sleeve back down over the black marks. “You don’t get to be mad I told Master Reynard everything. He’s the only Jedi that isn’t an insufferable, hypocritical ass.  _ And _ he’s going to try to get this alliance to let us help!”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You weren’t  _ so  _ bad as a Jedi,” Terenti says, snickering. 

“Insulting me doesn’t change the fact that  _ you _ almost got us killed.” Vasili crosses his arms and slouches on the couch. “Did the Mandalorian tell you where we are? This isn’t a  _ Jedi _ manor.”

“They mentioned a Lord, but not one I’d ever heard of. Clearly a recluse uninterested in the power games. So he’s either very weak or very formidable.” 

“He’s probably an alien or the father of one of the Sa’alle girls, if he wants Lord Sa’alle dead. Though…” Vasili frowns. “It’s pretty weird that he’s allow Master Reynard in his manor, alliance or no.”

“Maybe  _ he’s  _ the father to one of her girls. I hear she took suitable material from all over the galaxy,” Terenti said. 

“He  _ did _ take one of them as an apprentice… “

“The only question is… shameful vow-breaking liaison or did she take him by force? Were you close enough to him to get the juicy details?” 

Vasili rolls his eyes. “Oh yes, Teren, they just put all of the ex-Sith together so they can conspire to return to the Dark Side. Obviously, they wouldn't let me near the Sa'alle girl.”

“I just really want to know. Sa’alle isn’t bad-looking but she’s not exactly one of those hedonist Sith ladies who waltz around wearing nothing. Is she seducing them with her feminine wiles or is this more of a… against their will thing.” 

“Ugh, I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it.” Vasili rubs the back of his neck. “What are we going to do when they find out you killed Septimius?”

“Kriff. I almost forgot. We’re at their mercy if they want to make an issue of it… Maybe I can buy them off with ‘his’ support on political… whatevers.” 

“Lord Septimius was notoriously lacking in political clout. Blame his little rivalry with Yidrath.” The voice comes out of nowhere and a second later a male Sith with hair the color of fresh blood appears.

“Oh. Well shit. I assume you’re here to tell me what you all  _ do  _ want?” Terenti said, taking the interruption in stride. Doubtless they’d been listening the whole time. 

“You’re both woefully untrained. I’ll be taking you on as apprentices. But be aware, if Dani wants to kill you, I’ll let her.” The Sith looks them over, as if assessing cattle. “I am Lord Aucht. It would be in your best interest not to underestimate me. If you harm anyone on the estate, you won’t live to regret it.”

Vasili straightens in his seat. “I’m really not interested in becoming a Sith.”

“But you’re not complaining about the generous offer,” Terenti says, elbowing his twin. “Excuse him, my lord. Jedi brainwashing.”

“You’re untrained and your ability is wildly unstable. It’s a miracle you’re still alive at this point to  _ be _ trained.” Lord Aucht jabs his finger at Vasili.

“What ability? I don’t have an ability.”

“Yeah, he’s barely got anything. I’m far stronger in the Force,” Terenti scoffs. 

“This is the last time I do Fox a favor,” the Sith mutters to himself. “The droid will take you to your rooms. Training begins tomorrow, at dawn. Don’t be late.” With that threat, Lord Aucht disappears again.

“What’s he talking about, ability? There’s nothing special about you,” Terenti protests once the brothers are alone again. 

Vasili uncrosses his arms and shakes his head. “No idea, but it’s not as if I  _ ever _ received formal Force training. Yidrath kept me chained up and you can’t teach a nerf to drink water.”

“I thought that was just because your potential was useless and she wasn’t gonna bother.” 

“Wow, thanks, Brother. Good to know you think so highly of me.”

“I’ve said that to your face before, don’t act surprised now.” 

“And I thought you were taking the piss. If I’m so useless, I won’t waste my time being your body double anymore, then.”

Terenti lifts his hands. “Oh, stop. Come on, let’s find out what this  _ ability  _ of yours is. Maybe it’ll be something we can use.” 

“And by  _ we _ you mean  _ you _ .”

“Advantages you’ll enjoy when acting as my body double. See, it all comes around in the end.” 

Vasili says nothing in response to that. He just stands and walks past his twin to the droid waiting to show them out.

\---

When Terenti ditches him to explore the estate, Vasili wanders with much more purpose. His Force sense isn’t the best, but it’s enough to feel the general location of the Forcers. The first signature he tracks down is Frida and her sister sparring. Two young men look on from the flower garden, but Vasili isn’t interested in talking to them, so he keeps looking.

The second signature leads him to a staircase leading down to what he can only assume is a dungeon, so he turns around. The third signature leads him to a library where two Mandalorians are talking. He blinks.

The woman spots him immediately. “Sokolov.”

“I was looking for Master Reynard.”

The second Mandalorian turns around and is none other than Master Reynard himself. “Vasili, how can I help you?”

“...I was going to ask why you were going to let him make me a Sith, but this explains it.” Vasili rubs the back of his neck. “Well,  _ kriff _ .”

“Fervor, that is to say, Frida, will be staying here as well and she has no intention of becoming a Sith.” Master Reynard shrugs. 

“And hide out on the mid-rim doing nothing? I’m no sorcerer. I can hardly use telekinesis. I’ve been in hiding ever since I got away from Yidrath. I can’t  _ live  _ like this anymore.”

The Mandalorian woman looks at Master Reynard before turning back to him. “And what would you do, if given the choice?”

“I… I don’t know. I can’t play the Sith mind games. I can’t go back to the Jedi.” Vasili struggles to find words, to come up with some alternative, but he’s never had  _ options _ before. Never been able to choose what he  _ wanted _ , so he doesn’t even know what’s out there.

“We could take him Home,” the woman says.

“Absolutely not. The risk with his ability is too great. Whatever safeguard has been hiding it from the emperor won’t last forever and if His eye is drawn there…”

“ _ What _ ability?” Vasili interrupts. “I don’t  _ have _ an ability. I can barely throw a rock across the garden. And who are you, really? Master Reynard wasn’t a Mandalorian.”

Master Reynard sighs and gestures to a table. “Sit.”

Still dubious, Vasili watches the two carefully as he sits.

“I’m Fox Sa’alle. I’m Sybil’s older brother. I was taken in by Clan Meshurok during the last war. I rescued Fervor’s father from Sybil’s dungeon and the Jedi decided to capitalize on my kindness by taking me prisoner and wiping my memories with the same technique they used on Revan.”

“But Forcers can’t be Mandalorians.”

The woman snorts. “Of course,  _ that’s  _ the part of the story he questions.”

“Vasili knows the cruel hypocrisy of the Jedi rather well,  _ cyare _ . Anyway, as for your ability… You’re a Conduit. I don’t know why you have no aptitude for sorcery, but it’s probably the only reason you haven’t gone mad. Before Vitiate came to power, Sokolov would have one or two Conduits per generation that foamed at the mouth and were led around on leashes and sicced at the Jedi.”

“When you say Conduit, do you mean the unlimited ability to channel the Force? As in, I could channel it for days and never tire?” Vasili feels cold. He shivers and rubs his arms through the thin kilik silk sleeves.

“You  _ could _ , but you’d certainly go mad. Sorcerer or not, if you become too emotional, it’s still possible for you to destroy your mind and anything around you.”

Feeling more than a little sick, Vasili pulls at his collar and tries to keep his breathing even. “That doesn’t sound like something I can be trained out of.”

“Octavian is going to make you a limiter. The resistance will be high, but should the worst happen the only real counter is a second Conduit.”

“Seems to me he’s better off away from his  _ dar’jetii _ brother,” the Mandalorian woman says. “If Dani had tried to kill them, all three of them would be dead.”

“We can’t just set him loose on the galaxy, Carina. I won’t ship him off to the Jedi, but someone has to keep an eye on him.”

Carina nods. “I know, that’s why I’m suggesting we take him with us.”

“ _ Alor _ -”

“Yes, I am  _ alor _ and I think it’s best.”

Master Reynard -  _ Fox _ \- sighs and shakes his head before meeting Vasili’s eyes. “It depends on you. You can train with the  _ aliit _ for the Sa’alle operation and we’ll see where things go from there.”

The self-satisfied look on Carina’s face makes Vasili doubt this is really a choice. He’s pretty sure she’ll get her way regardless of what he and Fox want at this point, but it  _ is _ better than the other options. “That… wouldn’t be so bad.”


	2. Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Object lesson takes on a new meaning with the Force.

Vasili knows he’s dreaming the moment he opens his eyes. Even though Terenti broke the restraints on his words and actions, Yidrath’s curse is still a frozen brand on his arm, so its lack tells him all he needs to know. Without it, he probably wouldn’t notice. He’s in the sitting room in the suite assigned to him and his brother and the windows show a natural sky and the garden outside.

He sits on the couch and visualizes a tea service, but nothing appears in front of him. “It was worth a try.”

“Considering your gross inability to use sorcery, I’m surprised you thought of that so quickly,” Lord Aucht says. He appears with the words, sitting in the chair across from Vasili. He waves a hand and the tea service appears.

“I can’t do it. That doesn’t mean I have no idea how it works.” Vasili frowns and makes himself a cup of tea.

“I find Force Sensitives aren’t the most logical people. Why would they need to think things through when they have intuition?”

Vasili rubs the tattoos on his arm and doesn’t comment.

“Ah, yes, that would explain it. Nevertheless, I discovered that Hound has chosen to take you for herself. I should be able to create the limiter without you here, but that is not the only consideration. I imagine this will be the first time you’ve spent any amount of time with Force Blinds.”

He nods and sips at the tea. He can taste it and feel the warmth, but Vasili isn’t sure if that’s more or less strange than if it was the other way around.

“While there is some block on your sorcery, you must assume that the passive effects of being a Conduit still apply.”

“Those being?”

“Fox is a  _ terrible _ teacher,” Lord Aucht says with a shake of his head. “You can subconsciously mind trick or manipulate people. And it could potentially last forever.”

“How is that possible?” Vasili asks. He blinks and the sitting room is gone. The couch, coffee table and Lord Aucht in his chair remain, but the manor is gone. Instead the furniture is sitting at the end of a pier at high tide. As he looks around, a wave comes in and water sprays around them.

Two people materialize on the pier. One is a Jedi and the other is some kind of businessman. The color drains out of them until it looks as if they were made of transparent glass. The Jedi looks filled to the shoulders with water while the other man is empty down to his knees.

“Imagine the water as the Force. Watch as the Jedi uses a mind trick.”

As Lord Aucht says the words, the Jedi waves his hand and the water level inside him lowers and the water appears like a thin film over the businessman. 

“As time passes, the water evaporates and the trick loses its effect.” He pauses and a third figure appears. 

This one looks like Vasili for a moment before the color drains out and it also becomes a glass figure filled with water. The water level is barely at his waist, but the figure shoots a thick blast of Force lightning and no matter how long he channels it, the level doesn’t move. Glass-Vasili releases the lightning and shifts into a pose the real Vasili is used to seeing from combat sorcerers. The glass figure fills almost instantly, but doesn’t move from the pose. After a moment, a thin layer of water forms over it. The layer thickens quickly until Glass-Vasili is surrounded by a whirling vortex of water.

“That is what madness would look like. You could see, hear, touch nothing but the Force. And there is no way out.”

The figure waves its arms frantically, but the vortex simply expands outwards a little before becoming even larger.

Lord Aucht snaps his fingers and the vortex vanishes and glass-Vasili returns to his original state. “When you speak,  _ think _ , the Force responds to your will.”

Glass-Vasili holds a silent conversation with the business man. Water appears in small patches on the businessman, glittering in the sunlight. Additionally, the water  _ inside _ the businessman gently moves and splashes against the inside of his container. The simulacron of Vasili walks away. Before the water evaporates off the businessman, a wave crashes against the pier and sprays him with a fine misting of water that reinforces the patches glass-Vasili’s mind trick left.

“With your will acting on the Force, any ambient Force will bolster the effect.”

“I see. And your limiter will prevent this?”

“It will prevent it happening subconsciously. Fox and Hound can resist it, but until you have it, assume anyone who does what you wish is under your influence.”

“...Mast- Fox never mentioned this.”

“Years as a Jedi or not, he is a Sith as much as he is Mandalorian. It’s mostly harmless, but you’re rather more firmly attached to your morals.” Lord Aucht waves his hand and the manor returns in a disconcerting blur. “That is all for now. I will examine your mind again once the limiter is in place.”

 

____

 

“Come on, Vasili. You’re telling me they went so far as to take you away for super secret training and  _ still  _ didn’t explain your mysterious ability?” Terenti wheedles over the comm channel. “It beggars belief.” 

“It’s not super secret training. I’m going to help the Mandalorians practice against and with Forcers.” Vasili frowns at the holoimage.

“That’s what they told me, but the timing isn’t a coincidence. I’m not stupid, Vas. Come on, spill it,” Terenti whines.

“I asked them for options because I don’t want to be a Sith and I’m not going to spend the rest of my life in your shadow.”

“So you’d rather run off to the joyless warrior clans? All they do all day is train and fight. Get married at twenty and pop out babies. Disgusting.” 

Vasili rolls his eyes. “If it weren’t for them joining this alliance, we’d both be dead right now, need I remind you. And you need to make up your mind. Before we got knocked out by Darth Vallen, all you could talk about was how much I needed to go out and find someone to kriff.”

“Well  _ yeah _ , but only a kriff, not getting married after. You’ll lose that chance forever if you get indoctrinated into the bucketheads. Your first will be your wife, how awful.” 

“Mandalorians don’t take Forcers. I’m just… contracting.” Vasili makes a vague wave with his hand.

“Well, hopefully you come back soon. I’m getting bored already.” 

“I haven’t even been gone for twelve hours yet!”

“Yeah, you think I’d be used to it after your whole 5 years of being a Jedi bit, but I got used to the way it used to be. Go figure.” 

Vasili shakes his head. “Couldn’t find a brothel in the city?”

“How'd you know? Yeah, there's nothing here. I'm going to go mad.”

“You could focus on actually learning how to use the Force. Lord Aucht said the only reason you’re still alive is because you’re a natural sorcerer, since you’re too stupid to survive otherwise.”

Terenti sniffs. “I’m plenty capable. Worry about yourself.”

“I’ll call you in a few days.”

“You’d better. And remember. No marrying!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like so many things in this, Conduits are not canon. That said, between Ziost and the Children of the Emperor, I think Conduits are a logical possibility.


	3. Inclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, fitting in is just a matter of being there.

Dawn seems to come early on Taris. Sunlight reflects off the toxic swamps and bounces back down from the clouds, heightening the predawn glow. Not that Vasili minds. He’s kept up the habit of waking up early from his time with the Jedi, mostly because it gets under Terenti’s skin. He’s wearing a set of Sith combat leathers when he goes to the training grounds outside of the Soldiers of Kyrsha base.

He’s going through the most basic Echani training rotations when one of the warriors from Clan Meshurok joins him. Vasili watches her out of the corner of his eye as she finishes the set with him. He turns to her when they finish the set. “Cakara, right? Introductions were a little rushed yesterday.”

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” She pulls her vibrantly purple hair back into a high ponytail. “I was a little overwhelmed with the whole, ‘By the way your father is alive and here he is!’ thing.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m Vasili. And I can’t imagine how strange that must be.”

“Yeah, I mean, when  _ buir _ adopted me, it was… Well, I thought it was weird that everyone acted like Fox was still with us, but maybe it was just a Mandalorian thing? You have no idea… For years, the biggest condemnation was ‘Fox would be so disappointed in you.’” She laughs and rubs the back of her neck. “Surprise, he’s a real person!”

“I double-take everytime I see him in the armor. I knew him when he was on Tython without his memories.”

“Is he the one that taught you-” Cakara makes an odd gesture with her left hand. “ _ Buir _ said he could use the Force to use Echani forms.”

Vasili shakes his head. “There are a few full echani Knights that taught me. The basic forms-” He makes the simple gesture for the warm up they just completed. “-I can do without Force tricks. My grandmother was Echani. I, er, wasn’t exactly with the Jedi willingly, so I didn’t learn much else.”

Cakara’s cheeks pink and she looks away from him. “Yeah, I, uh, haven’t practiced anything since I left Eshan.” She clears her throat. “Ten years ago. I came out because Fox said he wanted to get back in practice and, yeah.”

“I’d be happy to practice with you.”

\---

After only four days on world, Vasili returns to his room in the Soldiers’ base to find Terenti sitting on his bed playing a hologame. “...What are you doing here?”

“Oh, there you are,  _ finally.  _ I’m here because Lord Aucht wanted to come here and apparently he’s more or less my master now. Too bad he’ll be a great deal harder to get rid of than Septimius was,” his twin complains. 

“Or, since he’s not trying to kill you, you could, I don’t know, let him actually train you?” Vasili says, stripping out of his training leathers.

Terenti makes a face. “Sounds terribly dull.” 

“If you’re more powerful, won’t that make your Sithing more efficient?”

“Oh, I  _ suppose  _ you have a point. He isn’t the worst, as far as Sith masters go.” 

Vasili rolls his eyes as he pulls on fresh clothes. “Alright, well I hope he told you this is a  _ Republic _ colony.”

“There may have been some mention of it. I know I can’t go out and strut around and get them to do whatever I want.  _ Sadly _ .” 

“If you behave, you can probably find someone willing to kriff you.” He shrugs at his twin. “I’ve had people staring at me when I go into town. Though, I cover up the House marks.”

Terenti perked up. “Good idea. I can do a little illusion to cover them and bam, dashingly handsome nobleman.” He paused. “Wait, does the Republic have those?” 

“Probably. Just don’t cause any trouble. I’ve heard about that Krysha’s Light thing and it sounds unpleasant.”

“Yeah, no thanks, don’t want to give them any excuse to lob  _ that  _ thing at me. I’ll be on my best behavior.” 

“Somehow I doubt that,” Vasili says with a grin. “Did you try to kriff Sailens? Or Fervor?”

“ _ Obviously _ . But they weren’t having it, sadly.” 

“Maybe  _ that’s _ why Lord Aucht brought you here.”

“He  _ did  _ seem kind of annoyed…” 

“You do stir a lot of nerfshit. Anyway, I have to go report to Fox.”

“Right, right. You’re being careful with those bucketheads, right? I know you ignore my warnings sometimes, but I’m always right,” Terenti says. 

“Careful how? I’m the one knocking them around with my lightsaber.”

“You know what I mean. So they don’t get their marrying claws in you.” 

Vasili laughs. “I’ve been here  _ four days _ . Are you out of your mind?”

“I always heard they were quick on the draw for that stuff. Just checking.” 

Vasili makes a rude gesture and then leaves for the Mandalorian camp.

\---

That night, Vasili sits on a roughly hewn log as he watches the Mandalorians spar in some kind of competition. They’re all drinking, singing and fighting in celebration of Fox’s return to the clan. Vasili expects to be told off for infringing on a family moment, so he’s shocked silent when a boisterous chiss in red and black armor hands him a cup of  _ tihaar _ and cheerfully says something in what he assumes is  _ mando’a _ .

He’s still staring between the cup and the warrior’s back when Cakara sits heavily next to him, her armor creaking. “Oh, hello.”

Cakara leans over and tilts his cup so she can see the contents before grinning. “Good luck with that. That’s not the knock off you Outsiders drink.”

Vasili holds the cup out to her. “Please, I’m not much of a drinker.”

“Oh, no. You wanna watch a Battle Circle, you gotta pay the tax.”

Vasili brings the cup to his lips but doesn’t drink. “You just want to watch me choke on it.”

“Maybe. And no cheating with that Force shit.” She punches him lightly in the shoulder and her white eyes glitter in the torchlight.

Despite bracing himself, Vasili still coughs up as much  _ tihaar _ as he manages to drink. He pushes the still half-full cup into her hands. “There, happy now?”

Cakara easily downs the rest of the drink and throws an arm over Vasili’s shoulders. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

“That’s what I’ll be asking when we spar tomorrow morning and you’re still hung over,” Vasili says without rancor.

“I have the most efficient liver in Meshurok,” Cakara says with a laugh. “Besides, you deserve it. You didn’t tell me there were two of you.”

“Whatever he did or said, I’m sorry.”

“Nah, you’re fine; I broke his nose already. Poncy little shit. I thought some  _ dar’jetii _ ghost got you, at first. Anyway, I found some real holos of Echani training. I kinda regret looking, though. I knew people got hot under the collar about Echani, but the sheer  _ volume _ of porn was staggering.”

“Depending on your search terms, it’s just as bad with Mandalorians. And that was  _ with _ the Jedi firewalls on Tython. Ridiculous.” Vasili’s tone is half disgusted and half impressed and he laughs at himself.

“On the bright side, if the clan ever needs a lot of credits in a hurry, I can take some glamour shots.”


	4. Facts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teren is nothing if not consistent.

Vasili practices with his Conduit abilities in the Soldiers’ mess hall. He’s not actually  _ doing _ anything, he’s just  _ feeling _ the Forcers come and go with their food. His own lunch, a bowl of stew he’s been grazing on for the last hour, is long cold, but provides enough of a cover that no one questions his extended presence. Force Blinds are still invisible to his senses, but Lord Aucht said that would probably be the case until the limiter cleared away most of the ‘white noise.’

There’s something  _ off _ with a quarter or so of the Soldiers’ Forcers. They feel… sharp. More clearly defined than the others. At least, Vasili thinks so. His head is muddled with so much information, but they feel as jarring as styrofoam on durasteel sounds.

Stifling a yawn, Terenti stumbles into the mess hall. “Oh. Didn’t think you’d still be in here. I thought you rose at the crack of dawn and trained until dusk these days.” 

Vasili jumps at his brother’s voice and drops his fork back into the bowl. He tries to pull out of his Force sense and blinks at his twin. “It’s early afternoon, Teren.”

“Oh, really? I just woke up, so…” Terenti smirks, pulls the bowl towards himself with the Force, grabs the spoon, takes a bite, and grimaces. “Eugh, this is all cold and nasty!” 

Vasili pulls his food back. “Sorry it’s not to your highness’s preference.”

“Well I didn’t have a ton of other options. As you pointed out, it’s too late for them to have lunch out and too early for dinner.” He touches his nose gingerly and winces. “I had a horrible night. My nose was broken!” 

“You don’t even have a black eye, it can’t be that bad. How’d it happen, anyway?” Vasili asks with insincere concern.

“Oh, I was chatting up one of these bucketheads and she took offense, I guess. I thought Echani girls were all about casual sex!” 

Vasili chokes on his water and coughs enough that it nearly hides his laugh entirely. “What did you say? I assumed they’d just roll their eyes at you and walk away.”

Terenti shrugs. “Nothing special, just the usual ‘hey, do you want to?’” 

“So you just walked up, maybe made a rude gesture, and asked that?”

“... Yeah? I mentioned I could tell she was Echani, right? That’s practically their national sport.” 

“Help me picture the scene. So she says no and then what?”

“I  _ may  _ have incredulously stated that I knew Echani were always up for that and she was just playing hard to get. And then she attacked me unprovoked.” 

Vasili smothers his chuckle by eating more of his food. “Completely unprovoked. Did you go complain to the clan leader?”

“Of course not, he’d just laugh at me.” 

“She.”

“Oh, yeah?” Terenti shrugs, unconcerned. “Well,  _ she’d  _ just laugh at me.”

“How’s your training going?” Vasili asks before he loses all control and just laughs in his brother’s face.

“It’s fine, but this swamp planet is awful. Hopefully we can return somewhere  _ civilized  _ soon,” Terenti sniffs. 

“Still think it’s a waste of time to have a proper teacher?”

“I admit, I’m learning more than when I was just reading about it on my own. Are you happy now?” The words are so grudging Terenti looks pained.

“Maybe when this is all over you’ll be competent enough you don’t need a body double.” Vasili shrugs and tries to sound casual, but it sounds pointed even to his own ears.

“I didn’t  _ need  _ one, it was  _ fun _ ,” Terenti says, his tone implying that it should be obvious. “Imagine all the tricks we can play by there being two of ‘me!’” 

“I don’t have to. I’ve been at your beck and call even since you removed the curse,” Vasili says with so much venom he startles himself.

Terenti blinks. “Whoa, hold on. You’re saying that like I kept you prisoner or something. We’re brothers!”

Vasili throws his fork down in disgust and crosses his arms over his chest. “How many times did I leave the flat  _ not _ dressed up as you? How many times did you send me to a party as you  _ when you knew _ someone there wanted to hurt you?”

“You’re acting like we had another option. They would’ve killed both of us if we admitted you were a different person! Me for harboring a Force-user and you for being a Jedi spy!” Terenti growls. “So yeah, I had a little fun with the charade sometimes, get over it. I was keeping us both safe.” 

“Well excuse me if I’m not looking forward to going back to  _ that _ .”

“We’ll get our new friends to pull some strings. With Lord Aucht as your nominal master, it’ll be fine, you can do what you want.” 

“And I plan to. Do what  _ I _ want, that is. Not what you want.”

“Fine with me. Why wouldn’t it be?” 

Vasili drops his arms. “Fine. I guess we’ll see when it’s time to put your credits where your mouth is.”

“As long as you stop whinging about it when I do.” 

“I’ll even apologize. Since you’re unfamiliar with the concept, that’s when I say I’m sorry for doubting you and mean it.”

“Smart ass.” 

“Go to the kitchen and say ‘I need a lunch for Av’ and they’ll give you something.”

“Some buckethead friend of yours? Okay, I’ll give it a shot. Thanks--maybe--if it works.” 

“No idea who Av is. One of the Mandos told me the trick.”

“Oh, everyone knows? Alright, better not abuse it. I should really work on getting a sugar momma out in the city…” Terenti mutters the last to himself as he walks in the wrong direction.

\---

A few days after his run in with Terenti in the canteen, Vasili walks through the Mandalorian camp while practicing his Sensing. He can feel Mandalorians better than other Force blinds, which Lord Aucht told him was a consequence of the cortosis weave in their armor. Though there’s nearly a full company of warriors from other clans, the camp flies primarily Meshurok’s colors and the Hound has final say on any decision.

Vasili pauses mid step and slowly lowers his foot to the ground when he feels another Forcer in the area. Whomever it is, they have a significantly weaker presence than Fox, but still enough of one to brush against Vasili’s senses. He follows the feeling until he enters the armory. He’s so engrossed in his Force Sense that he nearly walks headlong into someone.

“Whoa there,” the Mandalorian says. He’s an older, yellow-skinned mirialan and after a moment Vasili remembers his name: Ty’lk.

“Sorry about that,” Vasili says, moving out of the doorway.

“Are you the good twin or the evil one?”

“Vasili.”

“Alright, then.” Ty’lk claps him on the shoulder and then leaves the armory.

Vasili blinks at the man’s retreating back and then looks back into the room. The only remaining occupant, and the source of the Force signature, is the chiss with red and black armor. Vasili gestures at the door. “What was that about?”

“ _ Alor _ told us to be on the lookout for your brother.” The chiss has goggles over his eyes and is using a blowtorch on what looks like the hilt of a vibrosword.

“That’s a good idea, but he could just say he’s me.”

“Nah, Fox is sure he’ll say he’s the good twin,” the chiss replies. He deactivates the torch and lifts his goggles. “I’m Skauris, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.” Vasili walks across the room until he’s close enough to get a good look at the item. On closer examination it looks more like a lightsaber hilt. “What’s this?”

“It’s a practice saber. There’s a laser inside and when it shines on armor, it’ll shoot out a jet of ink, simulating a hit.” Skauris smirks and picks it up. He slides off a cover plate and shows Vasili the control panel. “You can key in how long you want the ‘blade’ to be.”

“That’s really clever, but you can’t block it.”

“That’s the idea. Being able to turn the blade on and off is the only real advantage they’ve got on us.” He replaces the cover plate and waves it around experimentally before offering it to Vasili. “How’s the weight?”

“Light, compared to a real saber, but outside of me and Fox, no one knows how to use a saber. Well, unless…” He gives the chiss a pointed look.

Skauris rubs the back of his neck and chuckles, though it sounds strained and there’s visible tension around his eyes. “Ah, no. I can’t really do more than tinker, according to Lord Aucht. So you can tell?”

“I’ve got a knack for it; you’re fine.”

“That’s good. I levitated my toys a lot when I was baby. Can’t do it now, of course, but I did it enough my family hired Hound to keep me from ‘shaming’ them. Chiss call it The Affliction, like it’s some monster that comes in the night to steal their children.”

“When the Chiss are allied to the Empire, it may as well be.”

“Good thing Hound’s the one that found me, then.”


	5. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Cakara changes the status quo in her life, she comes to some rather unfortunate realizations about herself.

The weeks on Taris pass faster than Cakara expects. She fills her downtime with Echani training and the lack of sitting and waiting for things to do explains the illusion that time is passing faster. When she first left Eshan, she had no doubt and no hesitation over abandoning melee combat. Now, she’s not so sure.  _ I shouldn’t lie to myself. I know it was a mistake _ .

She runs a hand over the modified shoulder joint on her armor. Cakara had the armorsmith change the joints after the first week and she’s grateful the work was done so fast. She has more energy and her mind is clearer and faster now that she’s using her body the way she was meant to.  _ It’s not fair. I should be able to live however I want, but this is hardly the first time reality’s disappointed me _ .

“Hey Kara,” Atin says as he approaches. He’s objectively attractive for a human: tall, even features, smooth skin, striking green eyes. He’s also been hopelessly in love with Cakara since he was ten years old and it’s obvious on his face. He takes a seat on Cakara’s right and absentmindedly eats his lunch - some kind of meat pastry - without even glancing at it.

“Training going well?” Cakara asks. Her skin feels too tight and she’s tense under his stare. Before, his obvious affection gave her some kind of warm, muted feeling. Now, with her sharpened senses, the warmth is stifling.

“Fox is  _ fast _ .”

Cakara chuckles and brushes the crumbs from her lunch off her armor for something to do with her hands. “He won  _ buir _ over, you have to have imagined he was a great warrior.”

“Right, but he’s in full  _ beskar _ .  _ Jetii _ and  _ dar’jetii _ run around in bathrobes because they can’t hack it with real armor,” Atin says between bites.

“I don’t think that’s the reason. Is he knocking you around?”

“I’ve been thrown out of a sniper’s nest more times in the past week than I have in the rest of my life  _ combined _ .” Despite the complaint, Atin’s tone is exhilarated. “We’re improving so much.”

“Good. It sounds like we’ll need it fighting these bastards.”

“You look- I mean, you looked great before, but you look better now. I’m not explaining this right. You look more  _ alive _ .  _ Dralshy’a _ .” He reaches out to brush her cheek, but pulls his hand back when she flinches away. “Sorry.”

“No, Atin, it’s-” Cakara looks around and sees they’re alone. She can’t decide if she’d rather there were others around to delay this conversation even longer. “It’s not what you think.”

“I know  _ burc’ya _ . What happened to you-”

“ _ No _ . That’s what it’s not.” She takes a deep breath and spits the words out before she can change her mind again. “I’m just not attracted to you. I never was. I was just never attracted to  _ anyone _ . I  _ thought _ it was because of what happened, and maybe that was part of it, but you’re right. I  _ feel _ better. I feel more alive and it’s like- It’s like when the sky finally clears and lets the sun through. I care about you. You’re my brother, but we were waiting for a day that’s never going to come.”

“I… You’re not interested in  _ me _ ? I thought it was… Oh.” Atin looks nonplussed, not sure what to say. 

Cakara looks down at her hands. “I thought it was, too.”

“Well, that’s… Fine. You know how I feel and if you don’t feel the same way, there’s nothing else to be done,” he says, frowning.

“I’m sorry. I… I think I’ve made a lot of mistakes.”

“It’s alright. When you came here, you changed a lot of things to fit in. You’d have never worn armor like that.” He makes an aborted gesture at her mods. “It’s good you’re feeling more comfortable with everything,” Atin says, clearly struggling to not dwell on his own dashed feelings.

“I’m going to… get back to  _ buir _ . Do you, uh, need some time off?”

“I… don’t know. I’ll think about it,” he says plainly. 

“I’ll, uh, let Fox know not to give you a hard time.”

“... Thanks.” 

\---

Several days later, but just after her conversation with Fox about what to do with Vasili, Cakara enters the armory. After ensuring that only Skauris is in, she locks the door behind her and sprawls across an empty work table. “Auri, kill me. Please.”

“Sorry,  _ ori’vod _ , no can do. I just love Hound more than you,” Skauris says without looking up. “But why now?”

“My  _ father _ just told me to go kriff someone senseless.” She groans and covers her face with both hands.

“I don’t know why you need my help. Clearly the shame alone will kill you.”

“I  _ hate _ you.”

“I hate you, too.”

Cakara rolls over and presses her face into the cold metal. “What should I do?”

“Have someone kriff  _ you _ senseless?” Skauris laughs when her only response is a strangled noise. “It’s good advice. You’re really tightly wound these days. I should be more culturally delicate, but I’m busy, so I’m just going to say that there might be a reason Echani supposedly have so much sex. Maybe your genetic engineering ‘rewards’ you for practicing the proper forms with endorphins and dopamine.”

“Why are we friends, Auri?”

His response is instant. “Because everyone else is pants at dying hair.”

After another moment of unintelligible whinging, Cakara props herself up on her arms and looks over at where Skauris is working. “You don’t think it’s un-Mandalorian to… have sex with an outsider to take the edge off?”

“It’s only un-Mandalorian if it makes you a worse warrior.” Skauris affects a pretentious accent. “Oh that treatment? Well it’s not  _ traditional _ . Yes, I’m sorry, I know you need medication, but it’s simply  _ un-Mandalorian _ . And we can’t have that.”

Cakara laughs and shakes her head. “You’re a brat.”

“You’re echani by blood and I’m a Forcer. I think it’s safe to say if something is un-Mandalorian about us, it’s not gonna be you getting some poor sap on his back.”

“Poor sap? Wow, I didn’t realize you were completely blind.”

“I’m not saying you’re ugly,  _ ori’vod _ ; I’m saying that unless you find yourself an echani or a zeltron, the target of your efforts will be left near comatose when you’re done with them.” Skauris sets down his tools and pulls up his goggles. He rubs his red eyes with a cloth of dubious cleanliness. “And I don’t think being ‘un-Mandalorian’ is your real concern.”

Cakara frowns. “You’re not the echani here.”

“I’m not, but if that was your concern, you would’ve said  _ dar’manda _ .”

Cakara opens her mouth to protest, but gives it up. She slumps against the table. “So what’s my concern, then?”

“Dunno, but with the way that  _ dar’jetii _ keeps sniffing around you, it probably won’t matter much longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Dralshy'a_ \- bright  
>  _Dar'manda_ \- Literally "not Mandalorian," but the implication is much more forceful. Diametrically opposed, maybe. It's also the word for those kicked out of the clans (ostensibly for being _dar'manda_ ).
> 
> The conversation with Fox is, of course, the one at the end of Passion, Yet Serenity.
> 
> A short note on Skauris/Auri. He's a chiss and has a full, proper, chiss name of Rask'auri'safis. By Chiss convention, only people extremely personally close (lovers, immediate family, etc) would call someone by their root name (Auri, this case).
> 
> This doesn't get explained in the story itself because everyone involved already knows it.


	6. Accidental

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not your fault, so please stop your crying now.

Dawn’s light shines down through the trees and burns off the morning mist covering the training grounds between the Mandalorian camp and the Soldiers’ base. The only sounds are the clank-thump of Vasili’s armor against Cakara’s. They’re practicing the second level of basic forms and Cakara is slowly teaching him a scripted fight. Vasili may not know what each hit and move means to an Echani, but even spending his teenage years on Tython isn’t enough to keep him from realizing how  _ intimate _ some of the exchanges are.

Blood pumps loud in Vasili’s ears and he feels a phantom tingling on his lips every time their faces come close. He feels a kind of tense relief when she signals the end of the practice. His breathing is heavy and tight in his chest, but it has nothing to do with physical exertion. He grins at her. “So is that easily recognizable? Are poor Echani going to gasp and clutch their pearls if they see us?”

“Yes and no,” Cakara says. She pulls out her hair tie and shakes her out the purple strands. The vibrant color is starting fade and her white roots have grown out, but she doesn’t look any less beautiful. “They’ll recognize it, but it’s the simplest routine, so they’re used to seeing other races butcher it.”

“If it’s butchered, it’s not  _ your _ fault.” Vasili lifts his hand, intending to touch her cheek, but pulls it back halfway. He hasn’t forgotten Lord Aucht’s warning. As receptive as Cakara seems, her interest could just be his Conduit power influencing her. Vasili knows the limiter is complicated and Lord Aucht doesn’t want to risk a mistake, but  _ Force _ he’s tired of waiting.

“You just don’t know any better. Even with the mods, my armor makes it rough.” Cakara takes a step forward and shows him her empty right palm. She’s never explained the meaning, but it clearly has one. “What do you have planned for the rest of today?”

“Apologizing for Teren. Staying out of the way. You?”

“Nothing until tonight.” Cakara reaches out and wraps just her forefinger and thumb around his wrist. Her voice is low and husky. “Do you want to come back with me? Wash up, get each other sweaty again… and again.”

Vasili’s leaning toward her before he even processes her words. His breath is caught in his throat and his hand closes around her wrist for a just a moment. “No.” He pulls his hand away and moves a half-step back.

Shock paints Cakara’s face and she looks between her hand and Vasili with her eyebrows scrunched. “No? What do you mean  _ no _ ? I know you want it.”

The explanation is on the tip of his tongue, but Vasili only shakes his head.  _ She’s proud. If I tell her, she’ll just say she can resist it. _ “It’s- No. Not now.”

“Vas, look at yourself!” Cakara’s voice is drastically sharper and she moves her arm in a rough gesture. “I can see you want it.”

The dramatic shift in her shakes Vasili’s core.  _ Kriff. I am doing this to her. Kriff. _ He doesn’t know if responding will make it worse, but he can’t do nothing. “Yes, but not  _ now _ .”

She snatches his wrist with a speed only attainable by echani and Forcers. “Yes now.”

Heart pounding painfully hard in his chest, Vasili jerks away from her, pulling his arm and his Force free from her.

A choked sound spits out of Cakara’s mouth and her body stutters forward before going completely limp.

Vasili pushes the panic away to sink into the Force in his body. He catches her around the waist with his left arm and props her against his body as he uses his right hand and shoddy telekinesis to call Fox on his comm. His voice comes out detached and cold. “I need your assistance on the training grounds.”

When his only response from Fox is half-bitten swears in  _ mando’a _ , Vasili gently lays Cakara on the ground. Thanks to the Force he can feel her pulse vibrate the air around him and while it’s even, it’s  _ slow _ to a dangerous degree, even for an echani. Without the Force to aid his senses, she’d seem as still as the dead.

He doesn’t know how long it takes for Fox to arrive. The Force thrums so loudly under his skin that it drowns out most of Vasili’s thoughts. He just stays, frozen in a crouch over Cakara and her garish armor. At least until Fox slaps him with a technique that gives him an instant of Force Blindness. Vasili gasps as his senses return to normal and he blinks panicked eyes at Fox. “What did I do?”

The Mandalorian isn’t looking at him. Fox has his left hand on the center of Cakara’s chest and the right traces runes in the air over her as some ancient Sith spell spills out of his mouth. Somehow, he speaks without interrupting his ritual. “Hand on my left shoulder. Channel into me.”

Vasili nods, though Fox isn’t looking, and follows the instructions carefully. All of his will is centered on controlling the flow of Force. He can’t afford to lose himself again. The image of himself drowning in swirling Force water flashes behind his eyes, but he can still feel the rough leatheris on the inside of his gloves. Can still feel the way his pauldron digs into his neck from the odd angle he holds his arm. He focuses on the feelings, on the  _ real _ , physical things as he tries to keep his Force in check.

“That’s enough.”

Vasili blinks and Fox is in front of him with his hands on Vasili’s shoulders and staring him hard in the eye. He tries to drop his hands, but they’re already limp in his lap. He glances behind Fox and sees Cakara’s chestplate rise and fall with her diaphragm. “Is she alright?”

“She will be. I’m sorry, this is my fault.”

Vasili’s head tilts comically far to the side. “I hurt her.”

“I knew your ability was unstable. I should have taken more precautions.” Fox squeezes his shoulders and stands. “Come on; on your feet. We’re going to bring her to the medtent.”

\---

“Your reasoning was good, unfortunately, being a Conduit complicated things.”

Vasili looks up from the floor and sees Lord Aucht standing over him, mask in place and wearing full Sith regalia despite being on a Republic world. Vasili has nothing to say, so he just stares, sure that the Sith can read the guilt and regret on his face.

“You can thank the Emperor for this. He’s hidden all information on Conduits, otherwise Fox and I could have prevented this accident. Don’t wallow in your guilt. You’ll only wear away at your own control.” Lord Aucht sits next to him and holds out an amulet. “Just in time, it seems.”

Vasili takes the amulet and curls his fingers tightly around the stone. “The damage is already done. First, I made her  _ infatuated _ , then-”

“If only,” Fox says. He closes the door to Cakara’s recovery room. “She’s been chomping at the bit to get you on your back for weeks. We’re all sick of hearing about it.”

Vasili stares at him. “But my curse was-”

“It’s  _ gift, _ not a curse. And believe me, Vas, I’ve been keeping an eye out for any of your influence. Unfortunately for the rest of us, her personality change is assuredly caused by her return to traditional Echani techniques.” Fox’s expression is annoyed enough that he could be telling the truth, but it seems too easy.

“But I-”

Lord Aucht interrupts him. “I wasn’t aware you had your brother’s ego. I don’t recommend indulging the habit of taking credit for things out of your control.”

Vasili wants to protest, but he’s too tired and too emotionally drained to do anything but nod.

Fox pats him on the shoulder. “Go eat something. And rest. She’ll be fine in the morning.”

“And prepare yourself. Now that I understand your ability better, there is a great deal training you require.”


	7. Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cakara walks Vasili through the rest the scripted fight.

After a long night of Lord Aucht training him in his dreams, Vasili drags his feet to the training grounds. He’d wanted to stay in bed. He’s tired and still emotionally drained and still adjusting to the limiter, though he can’t say exactly what feels different. The relief he feels when he sees Cakara waiting for him invigorates him enough that he can ignore his weariness.

Cakara’s hair is freshly dyed dark green and she looks just as full of life and barely restrained power as always. She might even look  _ better _ , but it might just be that Vasili knows her  _ interest _ in him is genuine. When she meets his eyes, she smirks and shifts into the starting form.

Vasili takes his place next to her and together they move through the routine. It feels like the Force is crackling thick in the air between them, but he  _ knows _ that’s not true. The limiter is doing its job, it’s just the tension between them and,  _ oh _ , but that heats Vasili’s blood. When they transition into the scripted fight and he can see her face, he can feel his blood thrumming in his temples and wrists and it’s only the fiercely pleased expression on her face that keeps him from deviating.

As they near the last few moves that Vasili knows, Cakara’s expression turns mischievous. The routine starts with hesitant, probing exchanges before the female partner turns aggressive. Cakara had explained it as the woman asserting casual superiority, only to be surprised when her partner meets her blow for blow. That’s when it shifts into almost a dance - actually a dance, by Echani standards - where each partner tries to impress the other. 

When Vasili is moving blind, Cakara aims a series of easily-blockable strikes, though she lets the contact linger after each one before moving onto the next. There’s a blush high on her cheeks when she baits him into high strikes that she dodges at the last moment and so closely that Vasili’s armor brushes against her polished  _ beskar _ as he pulls back. When he strikes out with his left arm for the third time, she grabs his wrist behind her back and pulls him in even as she presses herself forward.

Without hesitation, without  _ thought _ , Vasili takes her face in his right hand and kisses her with all of the desire he’s kept pent up. He shifts his left arm to hold her tightly and can’t find the will to care that she’s still in a  _ beskar _ shell because her mouth is hot against his and her hand is curled tight in his hair.

Cakara gasps for breath but doesn’t move back. She starts to say something, but then shakes her head minutely and kisses him again. The second time, she pulls him back by the hair. “Is now good?”

“Now is perfect.”

\---

Vasili gently tugs on a lock of Cakara’s hair. They’re well on their way to missing lunch, but neither is inclined to get up, let alone get dressed and interact with other people. He drops the first lock and tugs on a second one.

“What are you doing?” Cakara’s voice is tired, but she claimed earlier it was from the ordeal the day before and Vasili was not to get used to it.

“Admiring the quality of your dye-job.”

“Auri did it.”

“Auri?”

“Armstech. Chiss, about ye high.” She holds her hand up to her nose. “Brat. He’s got a touch of Force.”

“I thought his name was Skauris.”

“It is. He’s got a Chiss name.”

“ _ Oh _ . I just assumed he took a new name when he joined, like you.” He gives up on her hair and lightly strokes her arm.

“Nah, he knew they’d be angrier if they found out he kept it.” She yawns and stretches like a manka. The way her body moves under the thin sheet is enticing, but they have time for that later.

“That makes sense.” Vasili purposefully turns his head away to avoid temptation. “So how  _ does _ the next sequence in that fight go?”

“About like that, actually.”

“Minus the vigorous snogging and subsequent retreat to somewhere private.”

“No, that’s how it goes.”

“So you were teaching it to me with intent,” Vasili says. He knows better than to ask, after the last few hours.

“Yes, but even if not that… The opera that it’s from- It means- Well- It’s the only one my brother was able to sing professionally before he died.”

Vasili squeezes her shoulders. The years he spent on Tython, he’d thought Teren was dead, so he knows ‘I’m sorry’ won’t make her feel any better. “What opera is it?”

“The Seven Sisters. The primadonna is Moonlight. She’s the matriarch's beloved and much wished-for seventh daughter. She’s kept away from the machinations of the court and taught by only the best teachers. One day, after she’s beaten the best combat instructors in the Sisters, her governess searches for someone to challenge her.”

Cakara’s voice is low and has a steady cadence as she explains the plot. “When at last she finds a warrior prodigy, he’s a man and a peasant besides. But she wants to see Moonlight reach her potential, so the governess brings him to the princess in secret. The dance is the story of how they fell in love. There are many inflections to the movements that can change the details for Echani audiences.”

“What happens next? I can’t imagine an Echani story ending well for a man more skilled than everyone else.”

Cakara chuckles. “Moonlight’s sisters find out and have him publicly killed. The majority of the opera is her descent into madness as she embraces dark magic and is stained by its influence.”

“The Echani have an  _ opera _ about Sith corruption?”

“No, no, it’s the creation myth of the Thrysians. The Seven Sisters is what we call our associated planets, including Thrysia.”

“So that fight is just the prologue.”

Cakara laughs. “Essentially. That’s why it’s such a simple dance. It’s just a warmup for the primadonna.”

“Well I’m happy to dance it with you, if you enjoy it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm highly amused by how long it took them to hook up compared to the other couples in this series.
> 
> Also, I'm not personally confusing ballet and opera; in-story Echani have very dance-heavy opera and their ballet is very physically intense, comparatively.
> 
> Since the Chiss are ostensibly allied with the Empire at this point, Vasili would be aware of Chiss naming conventions, hence he didn't ask for further explanation regarding Skauris's name. See the end note of Chapter 5 if you've forgotten or are newly confused.


	8. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Aliit ori’shya tal’din_.
> 
> Family is more than blood.

Vasili sits in near-perfect silence with Fox. The Sith turned Mandalorian is drinking a cup of tea and staring at Vasili trying to levitate three cups at the same height. He drops all of them when Lord Aucht appears in the room, though he manages to catch them in his hands.

“Are the parlor tricks really necessary, Oct?” Fox asks, though he seems more amused than anything.

“They are this time. The Soldiers have rather delicate sensibilities.” Lord Aucht waves his hand and a second illusion fades. “This… is Malady.”

Malady is a Sa’alle, the marks emphasized on her face with makeup and the fierce scowl on what’s visible. She’s gagged and her hands are bound behind her back in Force cuffs that glow wickedly purple. Unlike Sailens and Fervor and every other Sa’alle daughter that Vasili’s seen, Malady’s hair is a rich auburn rather than red and her eyes are a pale yellow from Dark Side corruption.

“As far as Darth Vallen can tell, she’s the last eligible Sa’alle heir.” Lord Aucht just speaks louder as Malady struggles and shouts behind her gag. “There is, of course, the Soldiers’ penchant to burn first, ask questions later, but the more salient issue is her rather striking resemblance.” 

Now that the words are in the air, Vasili can’t see anything else. 

Malady, who renewed her struggles at the comment, has the shape of Fox’s eyes and his strong cheekbones, in addition to being the only Sa’alle daughter with his hair.

“Why, Oct, I didn’t know you cared. While your concern is laughably out of character, it’s also misplaced. There’s only one degree of separation, of course there’s resemblance. It’s stranger that the others look so different.” He snaps his hand to the side and the gag rips off the girl’s face.

“How  _ dare _ you suggest this traitor is my father?” Malady says with an ugly snarl. 

“And as you can see, she’s had some of her curses removed.”

“Because I’m not a  _ failure _ like Sailens.”

“And remarkably well-informed,” Fox adds. He leans in and examines her with the Force. “Tell me, Malady, do you know what happened to my dear sister?”

Her eyes dart to Vasili’s forehead before she laughs. “You  _ don’t _ ?”

Vasili meets Fox’s eyes and then grimaces before nodding. 

Fox turns back to Malady. “That was shockingly blatant for one of Sybil’s brood.”

The girl jerks her head at Lord Aucht. “He drugged me and I’m suppressed; I’ll not hear criticisms from  _ you _ , traitor.”

Vasili watches as Fox elegantly reapplies the gag with an imperious gesture. He shifts in his chair and sighs. He knew the truth would come out eventually, but when no one ever tried to tell him his mother was alive, he thought it could just wait until they saw her.

Fox looks expectantly at Lord Aucht. “Why bother kidnapping her? She’s clearly not interested in helping and she doesn’t have information we need.” When Lord Aucht simply stares him down, Fox shrugs. “You’ve been in Sokolov’s head plenty of times; don’t act as if  _ I _ should have known.”

“I  _ scanned _ her, Fox.”

“And we were both conceived through Sa’alle Force rituals. As I said, I’m more surprised, they don’t all look identical.”

“How can you not  _ care _ ?”

“ _ Aliit ori’shya tal’din _ ,” Fox replies with venom. “If you want her, then take her. I have my family; I won’t try to wrangle a girl that would rather make her way in carnage.”

Lord Aucht slashes his hand out and Malady falls unconscious. “Fine. Get the boy. The assault is soon. It’s best we know the truth.”

\---

Master Ultin’s receiving room is full of low furniture and lit by dim Force lamps that pulse uncomfortably against Vasili’s Senses. The multiple Jedi in the room certainly don’t help his anxiety.

The miraluka folds her hands in her lap. “Reynard informed me that you have information on Sybil Sa’alle’s current state.”

Vasili sighs and rubs the back of his neck. His sleeve falls down, revealing the remnant tattoos from Yidrath’s curse. “When Terenti and I recovered our mother’s painting, I found a holochit hidden in the frame by the previous owner. It had several incriminating recordings of my mother. She manipulated Sybil’s lieutenants into supporting her coup, so I can only imagine it was meant to be blackmail.”

Jedi Master Ster rubs his wrist and frowns at Vasili before speaking. “But Sybil can’t be  _ dead _ or the girls wouldn’t be cursed anymore.”

“Mother is a necromancer.”

“The Sa’alle curses only time out, as it were, once there’s a new head of the family. And that requires a ritual. Galina would have had plenty of time to reanimate Sybil enough to seize control of the curses.” Fox shakes his head slowly. “We don’t know the exact timing, but it was at least before Xalonie’s ‘death.’”

“Does it matter?” Asks a second miralukan Jedi.

“Probably not,” the holo of Darth Vallen replies. “The most important thing is that we know Galina’s specialty, now.  _ And _ we know the new Mother isn’t some third party.”

Master Ultin sits silently while she considers her next question. “Does Sokolova have any control over the boys?”

Lord Aucht strokes the front of his mask. “Vasili,” he gestures, “is immune. The other I will be keeping on a tight leash, regardless.”

“Immune?”

“I spent some weeks creating a shielding trinket keyed into him for other purposes. Trust you would prefer fewer details to more.” Lord Aucht tilts his head to the side, as if daring the Jedi to ask.

Vasili keeps his maudlin expression in place, but he’s impressed with his teacher’s deception. When the Jedi think he sacrificed innocents or is guarding Vasili from further damage from Yidrath, they won’t probe deep enough to learn about his ability.  _ Though, it’s still possible he  _ did _ sacrifice innocents to make it. _

“I see.” Master Ultin stands. “We’ll factor this information into our plans, but we will remain with the current schedule. Please ensure your people are ready to move in six days time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, Avarice and Frida/Fervour had a stronger resemblance to Fox, but if I'd mentioned that at the time, readers would have assumed that he was their father. Once the idea was planted, it would have been difficult to unseat, as it makes so much sense that in her quest for the perfect heir, Sybil would look closer to home.
> 
> Well, she did.


	9. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not a lie if you believe it.

The ship’s engines are loud, but Cakara knows they’re functional and well-maintained. She trusts Auri and his work, but she needs to do  _ something _ to release the excess tension before they land on Belsavis, so she heads into the on-board armory. She freezes at the doorway when she sees Atin. She takes a deep breath and steps in anyway. “Hey Atin.”

Atin looks up from his disassembled sniper rifle. “Oh. Hey.” 

Cakara steps into the room and leans against one if the worktables. “You ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. I’ve never really fought Forcers. But I know Fox trained us well.” Atin barely looks up from the weapon he’s fiddling with.

With a sigh, Cakara runs a hand over her hair. “Is this what it’s going to be like now? Avoiding each other and not even able to make eye contact?”

“I’m sorry, Cakara. I know I’ll get over it in time, but it hurts right now. I shouldn’t be making you uncomfortable, though. We’re still friends,” he says, glancing up from the rifle. 

“I know it’s my fault things are like this now, but if  _ buir _ knew it was this bad, she would have put you in Tiyaar’s group.”

“I can be a professional on the battlefield.”

“Hiding from me and  _ lying _ to the  _ alor _ isn’t being professional, Atin.”

“You’re right,” he admits. “I didn’t want to complain or rock the boat, but…” 

“But what?” Cakara shakes her head. “Get it out now, because we can’t afford to have it come out on the prison planet.”

“It’s hard to get over what I feel when I see you so happy with someone else.” 

“It’s not like that, Atin. I told you before. I’m happy because I’m not fighting with myself anymore. Every day was a struggle to hold back what felt natural. Kriff, my dad is a  _ dar’jetii _ and he’s one of the best Mandalorians in the clan! It was  _ stupid _ to try so hard to be something I’m not.”

“That’s true, and I’m happy for that,” Atin says with a nod. “But it hurts when I see how you’re looking at that  _ dar’jetii  _ Sokolov.”

“What are you- No. Look, I know how things normally go in the clans, but this…” She hesitates, but pushes on. “This is just physical.”

“Kara, I don’t have Echani body-reading or Force mind-reading but even I know that’s crazy. Everyone’s talking about how you look at each other.” 

“You know Auri is an insufferable gossip. He’s just yanking my chain because I made him change the color.” She tugs on her now bright pink ponytail.

Atin rolls his eyes. “If it was  _ just  _ Skauris, I’d know it was gossip.” 

“Well Dad is making fun of me because I didn’t like his advice. And  _ buir _ is mad I didn’t talk to her about it. And Ty’lk-”

“Do you really have an excuse for every single person?”

“It’s not an  _ excuse _ . It’s the truth.”

“Okay. If you say so. But I’ve also seen how he looks at  _ you _ .” 

“First of all, it shouldn’t matter how he looks at me because I make my own decisions. And second, he’s not looking at me any particular way. You’re just projecting.”

“Could be. Well, it’s your business. I’m sorry for butting in.” 

“I wish you would’ve  _ said _ something sooner. You’ve been upset over nothing.” Cakara sighs.

“If it’s nothing, we don’t need to go to  _ buir  _ to get me moved…” 

“It doesn’t sound like you believe me.”

Atin rolls his eyes. “That’s my point. You’re full of nerfshit.” 

Cakara frowns, more stricken than she expected to be. “I’ve  _ never _ lied to you. Why would I start now? After all the years, do you really not trust me?”

“I’m not trying to be an ass. Kriff.” He rubs his face and smears grease all over his cheek. “I trust what you _ think  _ is going on here, but just… be careful.” 

“I think you’re making something out of nothing, but I’ll talk to him and make sure we’re on the same page. The last thing I want to do is lead someone  _ else _ on.”

Atin winces. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.” 

“If I could change how I feel about you, I would. I’m not happy about giving up on all of our plans, either, but I can only beat myself up about so many things at a time and I’m trying to focus on what I  _ can _ change.”

“I’ll be fine, Cakara. I just want to make sure  _ you’re  _ fine.” 

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No reason, I guess.” 

Cakara can read his feelings on his face as clear as the day is long, so she just sighs and leaves him be.

\---

Cakara knocks on the door and winces when the sound makes Vasili drop the cups he was levitating. “Sorry.”

Vasili picks the cups up off the floor and carefully sets them on the coffee table he’s kneeling in front of it. “It’s fine. They’re not fragile.”

“Dad  _ did _ complain he needed new cups, but I wasn’t sure.  _ Buir _ just said he couldn’t get the cartoon fox ones he wanted no matter how many he broke.” Cakara laughs and moves to sit on the couch adjacent to him. “Apparently, he loves cute things.”

“What?” Vasili’s expression is both incredulous and amused. “You’re kriffing with me.”

“I’m serious! She has this set of armor with an incredibly cute fox she etched right across the chest piece for him. I’m telling you, she took the image straight from a children’s holo.”

“But he was a Sith! A  _ Sa’alle _ !”

Cakara laughs and feels the weight of the situation with Atin fall off her in a rush. “And there’s  _ nothing _ un-Sith about you.”

“Look, I was raised by the Jedi. There’s a lot of un-Sith about me. Everything, if you ask Teren.”

“Because there’s nothing un-Sith about  _ him _ .” Cakara rolls her eyes.

Vasili glances around the room and then leans in, putting his hand on her knee to hold himself up. “He’s afraid of  _ butterflies _ .”

“Absolutely not. You’re  _ shitting _ me.”

“He fell in a bush when we were kids and they’d been nesting or whatever in it and swarmed around him. Just the  _ sound _ is enough to make him panic.”

“Do butterflies even make a sound?” Cakara bites her lip to try and hold in the uproarious laughter. “This is  _ fantastic _ .”

“Just hint that you know. Having it hang over him ominously is much better than actually using it against him.”

“Because he’s got the  _ dar’jetii _ paranoia! Oh, you’re a  _ genius _ !”

Vasili laughs with her and moves back to his original spot, though he sits cross-legged instead of kneeling. “I have my moments.” He flips the cups upside down and stacks one on top of the other two. “I’m really trash at telekinesis. I saw five year olds on Tython better than me.”

“You’re good at other things. You’re basically human and you can do a passable Moonlight’s Shadow.” Still smiling at the thought of Terenti being afraid of butterflies, Cakara settles into the couch cushions. “I’m sure Fox has a good reason for making you practice, but you can’t waste your life trying to be amazing at something you’ll only ever be good at.”

Vasili meets her eyes for a moment and then nods. “I’ll try not to let it get to me.”

“Good.” Cakara resists the urge to fidget or clench her hands. “I talked to Atin earlier.”

“Is he doing any better?” Vasili asks. His face is curved with genuine concern.

“He was for a bit, but now he’s got it into his head that you’re in love with me and it’s making him feel bad.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Vasili says. His face is scrunched up as if he can’t even fathom the idea.

“That’s what I told him, but I guess his feelings for me are just still so strong that he can’t imagine someone else  _ not _ having them.”

“Are you going to talk to Carina about it?”

“After we deal with the cult. He’ll feel like he’s being punished if she changes anything now.”

Vasili nods. “Let me know if I can help.”


	10. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tragedy hits you in unexpected ways.

The Force beats and thrashes against Vasili’s Senses. The cult’s base is a writhing mass of curses and wards and ill will so potent is hovers like a miasma in the air. He’s with Fox and a squad of Republic troopers clearing out side passages. Darth Vallen and Sebastian are on the opposite side of the complex with a similar group. Though they’re in the center of the hidden complex, Vasili can still feel Lord Aucht and Master Ster cutting through the bulk of the cult’s forces to attack the Mother directly.

_ Mother _ … Vasili still remembers that day when he was five years old. He woke up in the middle of the night, the Force sounding an alarm in his head that he didn’t understand. He ran barefoot through the manor, feet slapping against the marble tile until he was restrained by the Force wards on the main entrance. He watched his mother walk down the front path, unable to speak. At the gates, she turned to face him, but her expression was one he’d never seen before and couldn’t understand: contempt.

“ _ Ke’pare _ !” Fox shouts, holding up a closed fist.

The shout shocks Vasili out of his memories and he mentally shakes himself before trying to see whatever it was that made Fox stop them. They’re in what looks like an administration office, complete with old, loud computers and piles of office supplies ‘to be sorted later.’ The only noteworthy object is the office chair - an expensive, ergonomic thing that the Republic troopers are discussing stealing. Then Vasili rocks forward as the Force from the room’s wards drains out of him.

If not for the chair, Vasili would think he was in a completely different room. The computers gleam with their newness and beautiful abstract paintings line the walls. There’s also a heavy, durasteel door set into a previously blank wall. There are thick black bands crossing it with glowing Ancient Sith runes.

“Good, you can see it now. We’ll have to work on that,” Fox says. He steps up to the door and holds his hands just a centimeter away from it. 

Vasili turns to the troopers. “Check in with Master Killian and see where you can assist. You don’t want to risk exposure to whatever’s hiding in this room.”

The troopers consult in their comms before the lead gives Vasili a sharp nod and leaves through the door they entered. A boom sounds through the complex and though it’s muted in the air, the recoil wave through the Force is large. Aucht and Ster may well be embodiments of justice and vengeance as they lead the way for Sa’alle’s daughters.

Vasili walks up to the door. He can technically read the runes, but he has no idea what they mean in this order or what their purpose is. “What do you want me to do?”

Fox’s hands start to glow, even through his  _ beskar _ , before he answers. “Call Shana, that’s Ultin, and tell her I found Sybil’s body. If anyone else finds out, there’s going to be a brawl over who finally ends her.”

Eyes wide, Vasili nods and sends the message. “She says Mother has shown herself, but not engaged yet, at least that she can see.” Vasili flinches as he receives an audio call from Terenti.

“Vasili! I don’t know what’s going on but you need to get over here. The cult Mother just showed up and it isn’t Sa’alle at all. She’s… she’s  _ our  _ mother!” His twin sounds equal parts bewildered and panicked. 

Vasili freezes in place, unsure how to react, unsure what to say. Finally, he takes a deep breath and says, “I know, Teren. I always told you she left us.”

“Yeah, like you were in denial. You didn’t--are you saying you  _ knew _ ? You had evidence and knew it for a fact and you didn’t  _ tell me _ !?” 

“I told you I saw her leave! You never believed me, so why should I have assumed you would magically start?” Vasili is surprised by his own anger, but it feels like finally pulling the dagger out of his heart, so he doesn’t try to calm himself.

“You were five! Of course I thought you were hallucinating. So did you let everyone else walk into a trap or is it  _ just  _ me you’re blindsiding?” 

“They didn’t tell  _ me _ , either.  And this tantrum is exactly what I wanted to avoid!”

“I could’ve gotten it out of my system  _ before  _ the life and death situation!” 

“Or you might’ve run off and tried to join her because you’re sick of following Aucht’s rules!”

“Fight against  _ you _ ? Do you really think I’d go that far? Force.” 

“You’ve been nothing but disappointed in me since I escaped, so  _ yes _ !” Vasili looks back at Fox and the door, just in time to see the black bands disappear. “I have to go. I have  _ work _ to do.”

“Right, well, I’ll try to keep our mother busy. We’re not done talking about this.” Terenti hangs up, clearly still annoyed. 

Fox’s expression is tight and controlled when he opens the door. The room is dominated by a black, stone altar over which hovers the body of Sybil Sa’alle surrounded by a flickering purple aura. Her flesh looks firm and untouched by decay, despite her having been dead for at least two years. If not for her Sith corruption and the Sa’alle marks on her face, she’d be identical to Avarice and Fervor.

The floor is furrowed with ritual lines. The channels across the stone are filled with blood dripping from normal corpses hung around the edges of the room. The air is thick and heavy with Sith Corruption.

“I… was expecting a skeleton or mummified corpse or… anything else,” Vasili says.

“As was I,” Fox says, his voice low and frail. “Linora was still alive when Sybil was born. I remember holding her and promising I wouldn’t let our sister hurt her, too. And then she became so much worse.”

After a moment of silence, Vasili holds his hand up to the altar. “Should I…?”

“Please.”

\---

Vasili feels it the moment his mother dies. He falls to his knees mid-step. It feels as if his skin was all ripped off at once. He thinks he screams in pain, but he can’t hear anything. He feels Fox pull him to his feet and manages to shuffle forward with most of his weight on the Mandalorian. When he can hear again, he asks, “What happened to me?”

“Galina did something to hide your ability from the emperor. That protection is now gone.” Fox adjusts Vasili’s arm over his shoulders. “The feeling will fade in time.”

Together, they reach the inner sanctum. In the center of the great hall is a smoking crater. Master Ster and Lord Aucht are standing shoulder to shoulder with the crater behind them. Master Ultin is in front of them, speaking and making sharp gestures with her hands. Though Vasili can’t hear the words, it’s clear that Master Ultin is scolding the two men for their actions. Neither man seems to care and they’re flanked by all of the Sa’alle girls, who stare at Master Ultin with the same hard, unwavering gaze.

Fox shakes his head. “It’s really uncanny to see them all together.”

“Are they still cursed?”

“Yes. When this is cleaned up, I’m going to take Malady to the old manor and walk her through the ritual to make her head of the family.”

Vasili grimaces, though he doesn’t know if it’s from his thoughts or his weakness as they continue forward across the room. “Is that a good idea? To give her that much power?”

“No, but it’s worth the risk to remove the curses.”

“Well that was fucked,” Terenti announces loudly as he stalks over to Vasili and Fox. “Even the Jedi are whining. Meanwhile I was the only one not to know we were going up against our own mother.”

“And what would you have done with that information?” Fox asks.

“Uh, I don’t know, been emotionally prepared to see mother disintegrated?”

Vasili shakes his head. “You would have been angry and probably would have taken it out on someone. You nearly got us killed trying to get revenge. What was I supposed to think?”

Fox pulls away and pats Vasili on the back. “I have to go debrief the others,” he says just before leaving.

Terenti ignores his leaving, scowling at his twin. “I just can’t believe that comment about  _ what if I’d joined her _ !” 

“All you’ve ever wanted is money, power and sex and you’ve been complaining nonstop about how Lord Aucht is stifling you!”

“Well I  _ do  _ and he  _ is _ but I’d never choose mother over  _ you _ . She abandoned us to play Mother to this cult because of our dirty alien blood. You’re the only family I have left.” Terenti pauses. “Because I murdered Father to seize control of the House. But still.” 

“And how should I know? All you care about is  _ you _ ! You set me up to be killed by your rivals. Nevermind the months you belittled me and treated me like trash for being trained by the Jedi  _ when I was kriffing kidnapped _ . But no. How  _ dare _ I abandon  _ you _ .” Vasili spits the words out.

“What, do you want me to sit there and sigh and say I love you like this is some kid’s holo? I didn’t  _ mean  _ any of that.”

“Treating me like your slave was no alternative! I had no reason to think you wouldn’t sell me out in a heartbeat. The only reason you didn’t turn me over to the Dark Council was because they’d kill us both to save the headache of figuring out which one of us was the traitor!” Vasili is nearly shaking with weakness from the removal of his mother’s “protection” and the shouting has him panting.

“That’s really what you think?” Terenti looks confused and offended.

“Yes! You don’t care if I’m miserable, so long as you’re getting what you want. You’ll stand there and make up excuses until you’re blue in the face to get me to go along with your stupid schemes and ignore what I feel and what I want.” Vasili gestures for emphasis as he yells at his twin. “Maybe I wanted to kriffing pretend Mother was dead because obviously the alternative is worse! Maybe I was  _ ordered _ not to tell you!  _ Maybe _ it had nothing to do with you!”

Terenti just blinks at him. “Oh. That  _ does  _ make sense.” 

“Doesn’t it, though? You have  _ no idea _ what she did to me.”

“Like what?” 

For a moment, Vasili hesitates. He’s still not willing to let his twin know the truth about his ability. “The only reason Yidrath’s  _ curse _ worked on me was because I was already crippled with compulsions. Mother could have snapped her fingers and made me kill myself, or  _ you _ , at any moment.”

“... Oh. I’m glad that didn’t happen. I didn’t realize she programmed you and not me.” 

“What was I supposed to say when you spent months extolling on her virtues and cursing the people that murdered her?”

“Well when you put it like _that_ , you had a good reason,” Terenti admits. 

Vasili feels Cakara coming up behind him and bites back the next attack he wants to fling at his brother. “Are you quite done?”

“... I suppose so. I have to think about this.” 

Cakara reaches him and takes one of Vasili’s hands. Her helmet is cracked and clipped to her belt, but there’s only a shallow cut on her forehead. “Hey, are you okay?”

Vasili sighs and squeezes her hand. “She left some Force thing on me and when she-” His voice breaks. “I’m getting there.”

“Who’s this?” Terenti interrupted, eyeing Cakara. 

“The Mandalorian that broke your nose,” Cakara replies. She glares at him.

“Oh. Oh yeah, Echani Girl! I didn’t recognize you with that different dye,” he says, completely shameless. “You‘re friends with my brother now, then?”

“Kriff off, Teren. You can’t throw a karking fit about Mother and how emotionally shattered you are and how I should have told you and then immediately start flirting.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go deal with my shattered emotions elsewhere.” Terenti lifts his hands as he retreats. 

Vasili steps forward and puts a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so-”

Cakara shakes her head. “Don’t apologize for him. For once, he might have a good reason to be a tit. Come on, let’s get back to the ship.” She brushes her thumb across his cheek. “You look awful.”

“Thanks, just… Give me a hand. I’m still really weak.”


	11. Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too close to see the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't count. No, it's not that. Let's be honest: this was written in its entirety before I began posting. [This is what the folder looks like](https://i.imgur.com/0yulFev.png). I just straight up didn't see chapter 12. So there's one more after this.

After destroying the cult, Vasili goes to Meshurok’s main camp with Fox. At first, the clan at large is so concerned with Fox’s homecoming that they don’t even notice Vasili. The first warrior to question his presence is a blond human named Leif. 

Vasili and Cakara are standing in one of the training rings early one morning when Leif arrives to do his own training routine. His armor is a blinding white and lime green. He stares at them for a minute before jogging over and throwing an arm around Cakara’s shoulders. “ _ Bur’cya _ ! You didn’t tell me you got married!”

As one, Vasili and Cakara tilt their heads to stare at him in bafflement. Cakara recovers from her surprise first and throws an arm around the man’s waist for a quick hug. “Leif, good to see you’re still in one piece. How’s the  _ ad’ika _ ?”

Leif beams at her. “Healthy as a nerf and twice as loud. Kyra’s already back in the command tent with  _ alor _ .”

Cakara smiles. “I’ll have to congratulate her and see… What’d you name him?”

“Wray, but she says I’m not allowed to name any others.”

“I don’t blame her. Anyway, this is Vasili Sokolov. He’s Fox’s student.”

Leif looks Vasili up and down before nodding his approval. “Not bad. So one for  _ alor _ and one for you?”

Cakara pulls away and punches him in the shoulder. “I didn’t get married,  _ mir’sheb _ .”

Leif laughs and rubs the back of his head. “Hey, all I heard was that Atin wanted the comm codes for the miri sniper in Tiyaar. You know, the green one with the red eyes?”

“Ines?”

Leif snaps his fingers. “Yes! That’s it! Have you got her codes?”

“Yeah, I’ll pass ‘em to you and you can take care of it.”

Vasili watches the exchange with a grin.

“Great, thanks. Now, what’d you do to your armor? I’d say Nouj is gonna have a fit, but it still looks like his work.” Leif gestures to her shoulder joint and the several plates where her cuirass used to be a solid plate like his.

“I picked up the sword again, that’s all.” Cakara glances at Vasili. “Vas was out here practicing with me.”

“That’s great!  _ Alor _ never lets me put footage of her in the holos, but she just doesn’t  _ understand _ . We need close ups of the action.”

“Leif, no one outside Meshurok watches your holos.” 

“Their loss. And also, that means Hound has no reason to tell me off, but it doesn’t matter. I can use  _ you _ now.  _ Oh _ , do you think  _ Fox _ will let me put him in the holos? Kyra says he’s a real silver fox, but I just have to take her word for that.”

“I don’t think he will, Leif,” Vasili answers, careful to pronounce his name correctly. “He doesn’t really like people knowing the extent of his abilities.”

Leif sighs, looking defeated. “Yeah, good point. That’s good phrasing, by the way. We all know he’s a Forcer, but no one wants to cause trouble for Mandalore. You’re going to have to get your  _ dar’jetii _ marks tattooed over when you join.”

“What? I’m not joining. Don’t get me wrong, I like it here, but I’m not…” Vasili trails off, and searches his brain for some reason, but he comes up empty. He wants to say he’s a Force user, but obviously that wouldn’t be a problem.

Leif eyes Vasili, then Cakara, and then waves Vasili’s protest away. “Nah, I give it a year.”

Cakara punches his arm again. “Don’t you start. Now, do you have training to do, or can you show me baby Wray?”

\---

Leif’s prediction is echoed by nearly half the clan over the next two months, but otherwise Clan Meshurok is happy to have Vasili. Nouj even makes him a set of “proper armor,” though it’s not made of  _ beskar _ . He spends his mornings practicing with Cakara and his afternoons are split between Force lessons with Fox and doing menial tasks for the clan.

One night, Vasili’’s holding Wray while his parents spar to the raucous cheers from the rest of the clan. Vasili rocks the blond baby gently, still surprised that he somehow manages to sleep through the chaos, though Vasili himself is by now mostly acclimated to the camp’s sounds.

Cakara is sitting on the railing next to him, watching the fight carefully and giving both Vasili and Skauris a running commentary on match. Her hair is honey-blonde in honor of Wray, so it’s expected to change once Fox and Hound adopt their baby.

“You know, Kara,” Skauris interrupts, “you and Vas should should do that opera fight. Ty’lk’s got the kriffing music stuck in everyone’s heads from playing it all day in the armory.”

“I’d be in for it, but I’m not gonna subject everyone to the music any more than Ty’lk already has,” Cakara says after a moment of thought.

“That’s fine,” Skauris says, holding out the vowel. “I’ve seen you two at it, it works just as well without music.”

“Works for me,” Vasili says. He listens with half an ear as Cakara goes back to her commentary. He takes care to make considering sounds every now and then, since Skauris ran off to… do whatever it is he has to to ensure that Vasili and Cakara can use the ring next. Vasili isn’t anxious about performing Moonlight’s Shadow, plenty of the clan have seen them practicing in the morning, he’s just still sure that he’s somehow going to break the baby in his arms in the five minutes before his parents are done with their spar.

When it’s over, Kyra claps him on the shoulder and says, “Thanks, Vas.”

As she’s taking Wray, Skauris leans over from the railing, “Oy, Kyra, don’t run off, I finally talked Cakara into doing the thing.”

“Well done! I’ve been trying to get her to show off some echani thing ever since she joined.” Kyra pats Vasili on the arm and winks. “Good luck.”

Vasili waits for Cakara to hop off of the railing and then they walk into the center of the ring. They shift into the starting position and then Vasili waits for Cakara to lead. Once they trade the first blows, Vasili can’t hear the others. Though he has practice and some muscle memory, he needs to carefully apply the Force to his muscles to keep up and move in  _ just _ the right way.

Though he’s no expert, Vasili can see and feel how much Cakara has improved since they first started sparring on Taris. She’s easily his match in a straight spar if he’s not using the Force and she spent ten years training almost exclusively with rifles. Vasili isn’t envious of her ability, he’s  _ pleased _ that she’s claimed him as a training partner when she could easily ask Fox or Hound.

When they transition into the exchanges that are more dance than spar, Vasili’s mind focuses on the small variations they’d  _ both _ made to the movements. They’re not all proper Echani strikes with history and meaning, but they’ve made the routine something of their own and-

Cakara pulls them together for the final move and realization smashes into Vasili’s chest like a fist. His eyes go wide and he says a quiet, “ _ Oh _ .”

She takes a step back, expression slipping from exhilarated to worried in an instant. “Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, yes, no, I’m fine.” Vasili replies. His ears turn back on and he can hear her clan members shouting praise and jeers before Skauris crashes into them and starts dragging them both out of the ring.

“Hear that? See? I always told you it’d be great, Kara!” Skauris laughs.

Neither of them have a chance to respond before others are pushing  _ tihaar _ into their hands and pulling them in different directions for conversation. Even as he answers a question about the spar, Vasili gestures to Cakara that he’ll meet her later at her tent. He watches her just long enough to see the affirmative before giving Leif his full attention.

\---

“I am going to  _ kill _ Auri for this,” is the first thing out of Cakara’s mouth when they’re alone in her tent.

Vasili laughs. “Why? Everyone thought it was great.”

“Yeah, so they all wanted to talk about it,” Cakara says while all but ripping off her armor and setting it on the armor stand with less care than usual. “Meanwhile, all I can think about is  _ you _ and  _ me _ in here and  _ alone _ and  _ without so much stupid metal _ .”

Vasili catches her hands, his heart pounding in his chest because his revelation  _ cannot _ wait for after they have sex. Not when his feelings are so strong. “Kara, we need to talk.”

Cakara freezes and jerks her eyes to his. Her expression is like a nerf stunned by speeder lights. “ _ No _ . Vas, not- Can it just… wait until tomorrow?”

“It really can’t. When we were doing the spar, I remembered what you said about how each company changes the movements to tell a better story of how they fell in love and-”

“Please don’t do this. Not now.” Cakara’s eyes are filled with tears and if she was anything but echani her voice would undoubtedly be raw.

“I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear it, but I love you.”

“You- What?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Everyone’s been saying it for months. I was just so caught up in being a Conduit, and then we had to kill Mother and I guess I just got too far in my own head. But the Moonlight’s Shadow,  _ we _ changed it to reflect  _ us _ .”

Cakara pulls her hands away and breaks eye contact before taking several deep breaths. “You just took ten years off my life.”

Vasili can only stare at her, unsure if this is a rejection. “I… don’t understand.”

“I thought you were going to break up with me!”

“No, I love you!”

“Well, I love you, too!”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I didn’t know until I thought you were breaking up with me!”

Vasili can’t think of anything to say, he just laughs in relief for a moment. “We’re  _ idiots _ .”

Cakara’s only reply is to pull him in for a kiss.


	12. Worth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terenti, as ever, is going to capitalize on the situation.

Vasili wakes up first the following morning. It’s late enough that he should start his morning exercise routine, but he’s content to lie there in the bed with Cakara. She looks content and peaceful as she sleeps, and he smiles as he watches her. 

When he thinks back to the dance last night, the way their movements changed from the base forms and indicated how they really felt about each other, he shakes his head again. He can’t believe he didn’t realize how he felt sooner. Both of them, insisting that the relationship was purely physical while the rest of the clan watched how they looked at each other and hid their grins and smirks. It’s so obvious in hindsight.

There’s a reason he looked forward to getting up and practicing forms every morning, and it had nothing to do with an inherent love of physical activity. The reason sleeps beside him and Vasili settles back, pulling the covers up over them. 

Living among the Mandalorians and their ways, he knows the expected next step. Everyone will want them to be married and follow the other ways of life. Fighting together, raising children. They both would have denied any such intentions 24 hours ago, but when Vasili thinks about it now, he isn’t intimidated or afraid. He welcomes the idea. He wants to spend the rest of his life with her. 

Vasili laughs quietly as he thinks back to his arrival with the clan. Fox took him here and gave him no choice in the matter. He’d never had any intention of  _ joining _ , but at the same time he could never think of anywhere else he wanted to be. If Carina had asked him to  _ leave _ … His heart clenches just thinking about it.  _ Kriff, if she’d asked me to go, I might’ve realized sooner _ .

Cakara makes a sound and shifts in his arms. “Go back t’sleep.”

“I’m not awake.”

“Your breathing’s different when you sleep.”

Vasili kisses her forehead. “Go back to sleep. We’ll take the morning off.”

With another sleepy sound, Cakara opens her eyes just a crack and looks at him through her eyelashes. “If we’re taking the morning off, I’m not going to waste it sleeping.”

Vasili strokes her cheek and then kisses her softly on the mouth. “Time spent with you isn’t wasted.”

Cakara shakes her head with a laugh before pushing him onto his back. “Kriff, we were oblivious.”

\---

Vasili meditates next to his comm unit. He  _ has _ to call his brother,  _ has _ to tell Teren that he’s going to join Clan Meshurok, no matter what the reaction will be. When he feels calm enough, he calls. “Alright, Teren. I have to tell you something you don’t want to hear. You can either be happy for me or risk what little relationship we still have.”

Terenti takes one look at him and then scoffs. “Damn it, Vasili, I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. If you’d just waited a week I would have totally won! Now I owe Aaron a thousand credits.” 

“...What?”

Terenti exhales an impatient sigh. “You and that Echani girl. Literally everyone knew you were head over heels. We had a pool going for when you’d finally realize. And I almost won!” 

Vasili is so shocked his brother isn’t angry he isn’t even surprised his oblivious, self-centered brother knew. He blinks at the holoimage a few times before asking, “Who’s your source for whether or not we figured it out?”

“I’m not an idiot. What else could you be calling about? After my rants on Mandalorians and marriages-” Terenti pauses. “Hang on, if you haven’t  _ told  _ anyone yet, could you do me a favor and wait a week? Just a week. I’ll split the pot with you.” 

“That’s why I asked, but I get the whole pot; you get bragging rights.”

“Deal!” his twin says quickly. “The bragging is what matters. Anyway, I’m not  _ mad  _ but I  _ am  _ going to say ‘I told you so’ for the rest of your life. I called this.” 

Vasili sighs. “I’m going to join the clan, which means getting rid of the House marks.”

“And I can’t really blame you. I mean Echani are absolute masters in bed so I--wait,  _ what _ ?” Terenti’s image gets bigger as he leans into his own unit.

“Do you  _ want _ the Emperor to know a member of the Great Exalted House Sokolov is a Mandalorian now?” Vasili asks, hoping the extra aggrandizement will appease his twin.

“Oh… Wait… Actually, that’s a really good point.” Terenti scratches his head. “But are you  _ sure  _ you want to join them? Can’t you just keep kriffing the girl without that?” 

“Maybe, but it’s not about kriffing. I love her. I want to spend my time with her. Do things. Live our lives together.”

“And Mandalorians aren’t big on that without you being one of them. Damn.” Terenti leans away again. “Also  _ I totally called it _ .” 

“You never said anything  _ to me _ . The only time you ever mentioned her was to make rude comments about how much you wanted to fuck her.”

“Well, can you blame me? But no, I’m talking about when you first started hanging around the clan and I said they’d get you to go native. Here we are!” 

“Yes, I know, you called  _ that _ , but if you’ve known I loved her long enough to make a bet why didn’t you tell  _ me _ ?”

Terenti sighs. “Because I  _ knew  _ you’d run off and put the bucket helmet on and pop out little mini half Echanis. We wouldn’t be brothers anymore, your brothers would be all those other Mandos.” 

“I’ve been here for  _ three months _ and you haven’t called me  _ once _ ,” Vasili says, too annoyed to be pleased that his brother seems to have a heart… or at least is pretending to. “You’re the one who stopped acting like my brother when I told you off for being a selfish prat.”

“Hey, being raised as Sith doesn’t really encourage you to express your feelings. More like bottle them up and then use them to power your sorcery. I’m trying… by uh, selfishly not telling you that girl was totally into you…” 

“You found someone to kriff on the regular, didn’t you?”

“... So you know how we were talking about how hot those Sa’alle girls were?” 

“Yeah. And I know Fox got them all uncursed. Lalat’s in Meshurok, too, you know.”

“Right, right. So Malady is the new head of the House and Lord Aucht is keeping her here. So I’ve had plenty of time to work my magic.” 

“Did she also break your nose?”

“Hey, she went for it the first time I asked.” 

“...And the second time?”

“Said I hadn’t been very good and she wasn’t interested. So of course I wasn’t gonna let  _ that  _ stand,” Teren says matter-of-factly.

“So what you’re saying is, it’s going great?”

“She’s arrogant, contemptuous, and infuriating. I think I’m in love.” 

Vasili blinks. “...Really?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far but I am proposing. It could be a very good marriage alliance, plus I can actually stand her.” 

“It would make it easier for Aucht to babysit the two of you.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea from your Mandalorian pals. It would be pure strategy.” 

“Oh are we pretending he’s not babysitting you?”

“I can’t argue with that. I’m just saying, don’t conflate your whole head over heels in love upcoming wedding with mine!” 

“Yeah, you’re going to need heirs at some point… Oh, actually, instead of lasering them off, can’t you just, I don’t know, remove me from the family?”

“Oh… You know, I probably could. I haven’t looked into that particular ritual, but in theory, it would work. Are you sure that’s what you want?” 

“If we  _ don’t, _ any kid I have who’s Sensitive will also have the Marks. Seems like skipping a step. Obviously the Marks aren’t concerned with blood purity.”

“Oh yeah… And that would put us right back to square one in getting your clan, and me, in trouble with the Empire. Let’s not do that.” 

“I don’t think they really do anything other than cosmetics, anyway,” Vasili says, though his tone is dubious.

“I thought that, too, but this stuff with Mother and our alien blood just makes me wonder what else they do that we  _ don’t  _ know. I’ll have to study them.” 

“Fox said he’ll make me a temporary illusion if I have to leave the  _ yaim _ before you figure it out.”

“That’s good. It might be a while.” 

“Fox and Hound just adopted some babies, so that won’t be as soon as you’re fearing.”

“I thought they had a dozen of them already! Bucketheads are  _ weird _ .” 

Vasili shrugs. “They wanted to raise a baby together. Fox thought they’d leave with three, no matter how much Hound insisted they were just getting one.”

“Oh right. Guess they haven’t, what with his disappearing act. Me, I’d be happy I missed the whole crying and diaper changing stage…” Terenti trails off. “Wait,  _ more than three _ ? How many did they bring back!?” 

“Four, but Ty’lk said two of them are probably going to D’narr.”

“Those two are  _ weird _ .” 

“People were placing bets for up to ten, so I think they managed fairly well, considering they’re Mandalorian.”

“How many are  _ you  _ going to have?” 

“We haven’t talked about it yet, but if Carina makes her the next  _ alor _ then it’ll be biological children plus a handful of adoptees.”

“Well good luck with that. I need a few myself but I won’t be  _ involved  _ like you will be.” 

“I’m already changing nappies and getting puked on. It’s hardly going to change much.”

“When you put it like that I should hire you to watch mine. It’ll save me the credits on the nannies.” 

“You do that, I might keep them.”

“As long as you gave them back when they were of age.” 

“Not gonna happen.”

“Fine, fine. Professionals it is.” 

“Well, be sure to invite me to the wedding.”

“Your clan would drink me into debt.” 

“Just invite me and Cakara.”

“Okay. Deal. Wait, am I coming to yours?” 

“I… have no idea how Mandalorian weddings work. All of the ‘histories’ I read on Tython were more concerned with the consummation than the ceremony.”

“If there’s a feast and free drinks I’m in. Otherwise I’m good.” 

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of Legacies! I hope you enjoyed it. :)
> 
> There is a post-plot mini series coming up next called "Glass Eye." Look out for it :)
> 
> [IDK how to tumblr, but I have one.](https://tk-duveraun.tumblr.com/) Talk to me, I'm bored and lonely.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second favorite of the Legacies stories.


End file.
